Have You Seen This Boy?

Blah, blah, blah. Talk about Pronger stealing the "game puck". Blah, blah, blah. A new Tomas Kaberle trade rumor emerges. Blah, blah, blah. Brian Burke talks to the media and remains vague as usual.

Boring.

Without a hockey game to be played, or a major shakeup happening there is little to report from June 1st, 2010. Though perhaps one story that could have seen the light of day, didn't for some reason. That being the fate of the 2008 Maple Leaf draft picks. Per the CBA:

A player not signed by his NHL team within two years of being drafted can re-enter the draft, as long as he is 20 years old or younger at the time of the subsequent draft. Players over 20 become unrestricted free agents.
NCAA players are an exception: NHL teams retain the rights to a college player until 30 days after the player has left college.
A team that does not sign a first-round draft pick is awarded a compensatory pick in a future draft upon losing the rights to that player.
A player who has been drafted a second time cannot re-enter./

I bring this up, because there was discussion yesterday of how Pittsburgh lost their 4th round pick, Nathan Moon, and how he will re-enter the draft. So this begs the question, what about the Leaf's picks? That year, the Leafs drafted Luke Schenn, Jimmy Hayes, Mikhail Stefanovich, Greg Pateryn, Joel Champagne, Jerome Flaake, Grant Rollheiser, and Andrew MacWilliam.

Out of that group, Schenn and Stefanovich have signed pro-contracts with the Leafs; Hayes, Rollheiser, and MacWilliam are playing in the NCAA; Pateryn was traded to Montreal in the Graboski deal; and Flaake is signed with Hamburg Freezers of the German League. So that makes Joel Champagne, who played in the QMJHL, the odd man out. What happened to him?

This question was asked to one Damien Cox in his mailbox, but he didn't answer about Champagne. Per the rules, it appears as though the time to sign him has passed and that because he is only 20 years old, he'll re-enter the draft. Burke said just today that he wanted to make sure the Marlies were a more competitive team this coming season. Surely a kid who is 6'4", 220 lbs and put up 38 goals with 41 assists in 67 games in the Q could have something to offer no?

So I pose the question to you; Joel Champagne: missed opportunity to sign a decent player, or waste of a pro contract were he signed?

And now for some linkage.

The story of former Leaf, Brian Spencer.

I can guarantee you've never heard a story like this one before.

Are the Maple Leafs acting economically?

mf37 has a great post that is well worth your read.

How can they play the video game, if it's not plugged into the TV?

Bangin Panger with an ad photo for the new Wayne Gretzky hockey game that raises a lot of logical questions.

How many games does it take to win the Stanley Cup?

22 to 23 is the norm as found out by Broad Street Hockey.

Key topics up for discussion at the World Hockey Summit.

Player safety; youth development; and women's hockey.